Why did GTA V sell so well?

[Roham4eva]

i dont agree with you saying it doesnt have that good of the story. the simplicity of the story is what makes it good. we're not having a badass revenge story like cj and niko, its a few months in the regular life of 3 men which barely know each other [anymore, considering trevor]. thats what makes it unique and fun, and the 3 protagonists being 3 completely different characters just adds to it. franklin being naive, michael being a veteran in his field and trevor just being a crackhead that just gives you a good feel whenever you see him makes it even better. my point is that it is far more different from other stories, with no specific goal or enemy, thats why i like it.

 

disregarding my bias towards the game, gta v's graphics at the time were crazy. the trailer alone still gives me this great feeling of nostalgia and deja vu, its very charismatic. another point would also be that there was a 5 year gap between iv and v, not to mention that most of the people that bought gta v probably always wanted to play an installment of the series from very soon, maybe even san andreas, but their parents wouldnt let them. them growing old enough to buy the game without anyone stopping them is also an idea you should consider.

[happygrowls]

Because it's a well-marketed, well reviewed game, that was similar to it's best selling predecessor San Andreas, which got people onboard more as IV hit critics and fans well, but casuals didn't care for the main focus, that being the story. Which is why V is such a gameplay heavy game, it sells, and clearly did it's job well.

 

V will always remain Rockstar's flagship title until VI, being the benchmark on what to do in your open world game for it to sell well, same way Call of Duty is the benchmark for whatever shooter is put out, or Forza/Gran Turismo for every racer, etc.

[Algonquin Assassin]

2 hours ago, Roham4eva said:

i dont agree with you saying it doesnt have that good of the story. the simplicity of the story is what makes it good. we're not having a badass revenge story like cj and niko, its a few months in the regular life of 3 men which barely know each other [anymore, considering trevor]. thats what makes it unique and fun, and the 3 protagonists being 3 completely different characters just adds to it. franklin being naive, michael being a veteran in his field and trevor just being a crackhead that just gives you a good feel whenever you see him makes it even better. my point is that it is far more different from other stories, with no specific goal or enemy, thats why i like it.

I don't know. The fact GTA V lacks a clear goal besides chasing money which was brought about chance is one of the reasons I think the story trips and falls IMO. GTA IV/EFLC already had three protagonists who barely knew each other so it's not really a new and unique idea. The main difference is Niko, Johnny and Luis all had their own goals/ulterior motives, but their stories crossed paths with a common denominator (the diamonds). The only time GTA V comes close to that is Franklin wanting to better himself by moving out of the hood, but even that feels somewhat fabricated when he's gifted a mansion and that's pretty much it. He didn't have to work anywhere near as hard as CJ, Tommy, Niko etc to overcome the hurdles in their way so it feels like something that was thrown in for the sake of diversity than a genuine story thread the writers were interested in exploring since it gets dropped pretty hastily.

 

Of course GTA V didn't have to do exactly that, but I think there could've been more done with each of their individual story arcs to make it seem less like they're running around aimlessly doing the bidding of the FIB. A good story needs to have a solid goal/motivation, but GTA V doesn't have that.

 

I don't mean to suggest you can't enjoy the story so please don't take it that way, but those are just my thoughts.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Algonquin Assassin

[Ryo256]

15 hours ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

I don't know. The fact GTA V lacks a clear goal besides chasing money which was brought about chance is one of the reasons I think the story trips and falls IMO. GTA IV/EFLC already had three protagonists who barely knew each other so it's not really a new and unique idea. The main difference is Niko, Johnny and Luis all had their own goals/ulterior motives, but their stories crossed paths with a common denominator (the diamonds). The only time GTA V comes close to that is Franklin wanting to better himself by moving out of the hood, but even that feels somewhat fabricated when he's gifted a mansion and that's pretty much it. He didn't have to work anywhere near as hard as CJ, Tommy, Niko etc to overcome the hurdles in their way so it feels like something that was thrown in for the sake of diversity than a genuine story thread the writers were interested in exploring since it gets dropped pretty hastily.

 

Of course GTA V didn't have to do exactly that, but I think there could've been more done with each of their individual story arcs to make it seem less like they're running around aimlessly doing the bidding of the FIB. A good story needs to have a solid goal/motivation, but GTA V doesn't have that.

 

I don't mean to suggest you can't enjoy the story so please don't take it that way, but those are just my thoughts.

I also would add that if the intention of GTA V story was to be a 'slice of life' GTA without a major enemy or goal then it didn't do a good job at that either. Ending C do indicate that it has clear enemies and Ending A/B does attempt to make a solid conclusion along with making one of the protagonists into an antagonist. 

My view is that, Rockstar just went a little too overboard with ambition, rewrote the story couple of times, cut parts until the dead line came too close and just shipped whatever they got. It may explain why Endings differ so much from each other thematically and why none of them feel that justified, as if the meat of the story was cut at some point.

At this point, GTAO seems to have a more clear direction in its narrative regardless of how thin it is IMO.

[DenjiChainsawman]

Shark cards and GTA online 

[Roham4eva]

On 10/24/2022 at 3:38 AM, Algonquin Assassin said:

I don't know. The fact GTA V lacks a clear goal besides chasing money which was brought about chance is one of the reasons I think the story trips and falls IMO. GTA IV/EFLC already had three protagonists who barely knew each other so it's not really a new and unique idea. The main difference is Niko, Johnny and Luis all had their own goals/ulterior motives, but their stories crossed paths with a common denominator (the diamonds). The only time GTA V comes close to that is Franklin wanting to better himself by moving out of the hood, but even that feels somewhat fabricated when he's gifted a mansion and that's pretty much it. He didn't have to work anywhere near as hard as CJ, Tommy, Niko etc to overcome the hurdles in their way so it feels like something that was thrown in for the sake of diversity than a genuine story thread the writers were interested in exploring since it gets dropped pretty hastily.

 

Of course GTA V didn't have to do exactly that, but I think there could've been more done with each of their individual story arcs to make it seem less like they're running around aimlessly doing the bidding of the FIB. A good story needs to have a solid goal/motivation, but GTA V doesn't have that.

 

I don't mean to suggest you can't enjoy the story so please don't take it that way, but those are just my thoughts.

i get your point. i also agree with you from an objective stand-point. every gta character and story had an ambition behind it. whether it was from the start or created in the process. but i, in my own opinion, like the randomness and simplicity of gta v. its not my favorite gta, that would probably be iv or sa, but its still top 3 nonetheless.

[Algonquin Assassin]

2 hours ago, Roham4eva said:

i get your point. i also agree with you from an objective stand-point. every gta character and story had an ambition behind it. whether it was from the start or created in the process. but i, in my own opinion, like the randomness and simplicity of gta v. its not my favorite gta, that would probably be iv or sa, but its still top 3 nonetheless.

I realise looking back in hindsight I may have come off as a big strong so I apologise for that.

 

I totally get liking simplicity. GTA V’s story has its flaws, but at the very least I have to be honest in saying there were definitely times it shined like during Bury The Hatchet so it’s not as if I think it’s a complete disaster or any thing like that. I just like stories like GTA IV, RDR II, Max Payne 3 etc more.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Algonquin Assassin

[The Artist]

Internet being more widespread, bigger marketing campaign etc.

 

And I think Online is probably the main reason it still sells well even today. Online attracts a lot of kids from other franchises like CoD, who probably wouldn't have bought the game if it was single-player only.

[Krooked_]

On 10/24/2022 at 3:08 AM, Algonquin Assassin said:

GTA IV/EFLC already had three protagonists who barely knew each other so it's not really a new and unique idea. The main difference is Niko, Johnny and Luis all had their own goals/ulterior motives, but their stories crossed paths with a common denominator (the diamonds).

This right here is why I think the GTA IV saga is the best GTA story so far. There's something I really enjoy about protagonists from different stories crossing paths with one another. Someone here on GTAF once mentioned how it's similar to Tarantino's Pulp Fiction where you have a couple of separate stories that soon intertwine with one another. And to see that in a GTA game is really cool.

 

GTA V should've had a similar narrative. It would've made for a more interesting and thrilling story.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Krooked_

[Roham4eva]

6 hours ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

I realise looking back in hindsight I may have come off as a big strong so I apologise for that.

 

I totally get liking simplicity. GTA V’s story has its flaws, but at the very least I have to be honest in saying there were definitely times it shined like during Bury The Hatchet so it’s not as if I think it’s a complete disaster or any thing like that. I just like stories like GTA IV, RDR II, Max Payne 3 etc more.

 

 

 

 

i agree with you boss, no need to apologize.

[Algonquin Assassin]

6 hours ago, Krooked_ said:

Someone here on GTAF once mentioned how it's similar to Tarantino's Pulp Fiction where you have a couple of separate stories that soon intertwine with one another. And to see that in a GTA game is really cool.

That was probably me.